Not Even Death
by MewOrenji
Summary: An accident leads to a near death experience for both Ash and Dawn. Does it bring them together or tear their families apart? (format issues possible)


Not Even Death

* * *

_Sorry you guys haven't heard from me in forever. It's been a stressful summer and fall. I'll be updating incomplete stories now. Enjoy my new story, Not Even Death. :)_

* * *

It was just a regular day. Or so I had thought. My next goal was to get out of Pinwheel Forest. No matter which way I went, I couldn't get to the exit. I would end

up in the same place I started. Not even the paths Brock or Dawn took helped. We always ended up back where we started. Maybe it was for the better, I thought. No,

who was I trying to kid. I'm Ash Ketchum. I never give up! I looked for places with potential. I saw a very small break in the woods. I grinned and pointed towards it.

"Come on guys! This might be the way out!" I said confidently as I lead the way into the small gap of forest. The small gap came to be very promising! There was the

exit! I ran toward it. And continued running. But no matter how much I ran, the exit just got farther and farther! The white lighted opening twisted up into a vortex and

a face appeared on it. It started to cackle and grew hands! The demonic presence snatched up Brock and threw him aside. It then grabbed Dawn and started to

squeeze her! Slowly she was losing the ability to breathe. I couldn't watch! No, stop! Don't hurt Dawn! Stop! ...

"...Please stop hurting Dawn! She's going to die and I won't be able to live with myself because I don't know how to stop you! Dawn! Fight him off for me because I

can't! Dawn! DA-"

"Ash! Wake up! Stop screaming in your sleep! Do you have any idea what time it is? Let me sleep for a few more hours!" Yelled Dawn as she hit me upside the head,

waking me up. I heard Brock snoring in the background.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I was having a really bad dream." I whispered quietly and sleepily. I looked in Dawn's general direction.

"I know. You've been yelling for a while. I thought maybe you would eventually stop, but you didn't. Well, I'm going back to sleep. Good night Ash." Dawn said as she

shifted position and tried going back to sleep.

"Good night Dawn." I said quietly as I turned back over and fell back asleep.

* * *

The sun streamed in the window of the Pokemon center we were staying at. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and got up. Brock and Dawn were still sleeping

peacefully. I went into the bathroom and took a quick shower, letting the warm water wake me up. I wrapped the towel around my waist and looked at myself in the

mirror. I couldn't help but think why someone like Dawn would want to go with people like Brock and myself. But I guess her mom wants her to stay safe and thought

we were the best people to keep her safe. I shook the thought out of my head and dried my hair. I threw on my clothes and put my trademark hat on. I exited the

bathroom and saw Pikachu sitting on the edge of my bed. I smiled.

"Good morning Pikachu. Did you sleep well?" Pikachu looked at me and smiled back.

"Pika, Pika!" Said the happy Pikachu. I saw movement coming from Dawn's bed and saw her Piplup pop out from under her blanket.

"Hey there Piplup. Is Dawn awake?" I asked Dawn's Piplup. Piplup looked at me with a blank face, then back to Dawn.

"Pip, Piplup." Said Piplup. I guess she wasn't up yet. I shrugged.

"Alright. Thanks Piplup. Maybe she'll be up soon." I said. I helped Piplup down from Dawn's bed. That's when she woke up.

"What are you doing Ash?" She asked groggily. I smiled at her.

"Piplup had just woken up and I was helping him down." I said sincerely.

"Oh. OK then." She said as she sat up. She stretched and then hopped down. I moved out of the way.

"Brock isn't awake yet, so the bathroom is yours. I just finished showering." I said as she unzipped her bag and pulled out her clothing. She looked up at me.

"OK, thanks. I might be a while, so Brock will just have to wait if he wakes up." She said as she went into the bathroom. I sighed and sat on my bed. Pikachu came up

next to me and sat on my lap. I petted her. (A/N: I think Pikachu is a girl. Just saying).

"Who knows how long she'll be." I said as I pulled my lap top out of my bag beside of me and played around on it. Before long, I heard a loud thud come from the

bathroom. I put the computer down and lifted Pikachu off of my lap.

"Dawn?" I called from the door. No answer. I called her name again, but this time louder. I then tried the door, but she locked it. Piplup and Pikachu were at my feet,

scratching at the door. They knew something was wrong. I called Dawn's name again. Still nothing. I then remembered she had some bobby pins in her bag. I felt kind

of bad rummaging through her bag, but I knew something was wrong and had to save her. I took a few with me over to the door and tried to pick the lock. I have

never picked a lock before, so I hope it'll work. Within a minute, I had gotten the door open. I opened it slowly but didn't see Dawn. I looked down at Piplup.

"Piplup, check in the shower for her." I said. Piplup nodded and looked in. Piplup freaked out. Piplup looked back at me and tried to explain what happened. Piplup fell

on the ground and looked like it had fainted. Pikachu was well ahead of me and grabbed a towel for me to get her out of the shower. Luckily, the water was warm

enough to create enough water vapor so I didn't see Dawn's bare body. I would have been too embarrassed to get her then. I turned the shower off and wrapped

Dawn in the towel. I laid her down on the rug in the bathroom, still wrapped in the towel so she was covered. I had a notion to check her breathing. I freaked out

when I realized she wasn't. I had to think fast if I wanted to save her. I forgot about being embarrassed about anything and unwrapped the towel off of her chest. I

remembered watching someone get CPR on TV, so I hoped to copy it and save her. I started giving her chest compressions. I opened her mouth slightly and gave her

mouth to mouth. I repeated the chest compressions looking for signs of life. Nothing. I kept going, and going, and going. I wouldn't stop until either I passed out or

until she started breathing again. I told Pikachu and Piplup to go get Brock and wake him up. We needed Nurse Joy or somebody who actually knew what they were

doing.

"Come on Dawn! Don't give up on me!" I said as I continued compressing her chest. I breathed into her mouth again. I started to get light headed. No, I won't give up.

I will pass out before giving up. I kept pressing on her chest, hoping for a result. I punched the floor. Nothing I did worked! I pressed harder and faster. I hope Brock

got Nurse Joy or somebody. Suddenly, my vision started to haze some. I didn't know how much longer I could hold out. I leaned down and kissed Dawn.

"Damn it. Looks like this is the end of the line. I'll see you when I get where I'm going. Don't forget about me." I said as my vision blackened. And at that moment, the

door burst open, hitting the bathtub. I saw figures surrounding Dawn and I, with what looked like a stretcher.

* * *

When I awoke, I was in a hospital bed. I looked at the clock in the room as soon as I saw it. It was about 10 p.m., according to the clock on the wall. I sat up,

setting an alarm off. A nurse came running in. As soon as she saw I was awake, she smiled.

"Ask Ketchum, glad you're awake. I'm Amanda, your nurse." I looked at her and smiled back. I then remember all of what happened.

"Where's Dawn? I need to know what happened to her." I said intensely. The nurse looked back at me with a grim look on her face. No, it can't be.

"Dawn...well, we aren't sure what happened to her. She was dead for a good ten minutes..." She said trailing off. Another alarm soon went off. She apologized and

went off to see what the alarm was. I punched my bed. It was my fault she was dead. I didn't do everything I could to save her. If I wasn't so worried about being

embarrassed to see Dawn naked to save her, she would still be here. What am I going to tell her mom? What am I going to tell her friends? What am I going to tell

myself? I can't go through my life living without her. And knowing that it was because I was embarrassed will never be justified. I know her mom will hate me forever

and never forgive me for letting her daughter die. I laid back and for the first time in a long time, I cried. I cried so hard and couldn't stop. I cried for a good hour before

calming down some to sobs. I refused to sleep. I couldn't sleep because of Dawn's fate. All I could do was think about Dawn.

* * *

At about 2 a.m., the same nurse came in to check my vitals. I looked over at her with weary eyes. She looked back at me and sighed.

"You're still awake Ash dear? I think you should sleep a little, even if you were asleep all day." She said as she kneeled down by the bed, maybe to make me feel

better. I shook my head.

"There's no way I can. With what happened today, I don't think I could ever live with myself. Actually, I know I won't be able to live with myself." I said as I sighed

frustratingly. She looked at me and sighed.

"You think you've got such a sob story. You just want people to feel sorry for yourself." She said. I was outraged.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I know that I could have prevented her from dying and I didn't act fast enough to

save her. It was my fault because I was the only one who could have saved her at that moment, in which I couldn't. So, who do you think you are to be telling me that

all I have is a simple sob story that I have to make people feel sorry for me? You don't know me so you can't say that." I said angrily as I balled up my fists under my

sheets. Amanda stood up.

"If only you knew how wrong you are." She said simply as she removed her clothing to reveal a Team Rocket uniform. Oh I was seriously pissed.

"OK what the fuck? You go and be nice to me for like a minute and then tell me that I'm basically using my best friend's death as a sob story? You're so shallow and

dirty, Jesse! How can YOU live with yourself with the way you live? You're the worst out of you, James, and Meowth." I said as calmly as I could so no alarms would go

off. She laughed.

"When you're a crook like me, the sky's the limit!" She said as she came over to my IV pumped and increased my intake. She was going to try to kill me! I went to pull

my IV out but she held me down and injected me with something.

"Tell Dawn I said hi when you die." She said coldly. I was doomed, and it looked like I'd be with Dawn way sooner than I thought. I started breathing fast. This was it.

My vision once again hazed up at the ends. I looked at Jesse.

"I hope you're happy. But you'll never win. There will always be someone out there who's better than you to put you down." I said weakly. All I could see was her

silhouette.

"That's just what I wanted." She said letting go of me. I was too weak to do anything. She was going to let me die slow and painfully. At that moment, I heard the door

open right before I went under. She left me there.

* * *

I looked at the beautiful meadow surrounding me. I saw all of the Pokemon enjoying themselves and frolicking through the flowers. It really was a beautiful sight. I

looked around more and saw Dawn and Brock. I stood up and walked over to them.

"Dawn? Brock? Where are we?" I asked. Dawn spoke up.

"All I know is that this place is beautiful. But Ash, you can't stay here, and neither can I. You have to go back. You have someone trying to save you." I was confused.

"What do you mean? I don't want to leave you behind." I said. Brock spoke then.

"You'll see us soon enough. You have to go back. It's not your time yet." I still didn't get it.

"Go where?" I couldn't remember anything. Dawn smiled.

"You have to go back. You'll know exactly what to do." Dawn said as she started to fade away.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked as I tried to reach for her. My hand went right through.

"Don't worry about Brock and I. You'll see us again." She said as she and Brock faded more and more.

"Yeah Ash. Don't sweat it. You'll see us again." Brock said. I could hardly see them now.

"Now go. It's not your time." Dawn said as her voice became nothing but a whisper in the wind. And then I was alone. All alone. A white shining light appeared to my

left and a faded Earth appeared to my right. I had a choice. I looked to the light and took a step forward. I stepped back then. This was a big choice, and I wasn't sure

why I had to choose.

* * *

"Come on! Why the hell did you do that?! Damn you! We aren't supposed to kill anyone!" Yelled James as he tried to save my now dead body. Meowth then chimed

in.

"Yeah Jesse. What's your problem? We aren't working for you or Team Rocket anymore if these are our morals." Meowth said angrily. Jesse left the room, never to be

seen or heard from again. James concentrated hard and thought. He saw the defibrillator.

"Here goes nothing...clear!"

* * *

BZZT!

* * *

I looked over at the Earth, which was now making a buzzing sound. I stepped closer to it and saw myself. I was dead!

"I have to go back. If not for me, for Brock and Dawn." I said as I stepped closer towards the Earth.

* * *

"No matter what I do, nothing works!" James said. He did it once more. Nothing. He sighed a sigh of defeat. He put the shock pads down.

"No use?" Asked a grim Meowth. James sighed.

"No use." He said. He looked down at Ash. He thought he saw a twitch out of the corner of his his eye. Now looking at him, he saw Ash's eyebrow twitching. He looked

closer and saw Ash's chest rising and falling. If that wasn't clue enough that Ash was alive, Ash began coughing and sputtering, as if he was saved from being

drowned.

"Ash?!" Asked a surprised Meowth.

"He'll be OK!" Said a happy James. I looked up at James and Meowth. I was so confused. What was going on? I sat up slowly and looked around.

"What happened to me? Oh wait...never mind that. I remember now." I said as I got up slowly. I walked aimlessly out of my room with James and Meowth close

behind. The nurses looked at me and smiled.

"I'm glad you're awake now Mr. Ketchum. Right this way. There's someone who wants to see you." Said a brunette nurse. She looked very kind. I sat in the wheel chair

she directed me to. She wheeled me down the hall to Room 308. There was nothing special about this room. The only thing in it was Dawn and Brock. Brock looked

over at me with weary eyes. It looked like he hadn't slept in a while. I then looked over at Dawn's still body.

"We don't know about her though." The nurse said as she wheeled me into the room closer to Dawn's bed. She left the room. I turned back to Dawn and took her

hand.

"If I can fight it, so can you." I said quietly. I could see that each breath she took was a struggle. But as soon as I said that, her eyes fluttered. Soon enough, she

awoke and looked me in the eyes. She smiled and tried speaking. It came out as a soft whisper.

"I did what you said. I came back home." Brock looked up and cried tears of joy. She looked at him and smiled. I looked back down at her.

"That's funny. One because you told me the same thing and two because you never listen." I said smiling. She managed a very small and almost inaudible laugh.

"I could say the same about you Ash Ketchum. I'm here to stay now, and we all need our rest. Let's hope we can all leave soon." She said as she went to sleep with

her hand still intertwined around mine.

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_Aww, what a horrible incident but good outcome. This was intended to be something totally different, but it turned into this. R&R? :)_


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